A History of Limo Services

When someone sees a high class and expensive car, like a Cadillac Escalade or some kind of

Lambhorgini model, they will immediately start to think what kind of money that person has to have a car like that. Cars like those are widely available to anyone who is willing to shell out the cash for it. They are usually a lot money and they will become a huge chore to pay them off.

However, it will all be worth it because of how great the cars look and how some of them handle.

Now, comparing those reactions to a limousine are a little bit different. Seeing a limousine will not only cause people passing by to think about the money that the passenger may have to hire a chauffeur and maintain such a massive vehicle? It will also start to make them think what kind of a person has this limo. Is it a famous actor or actress? A world class athlete? An incredibly talented musician? Or a random, average Joe who won the lottery and is now spending his or her money on some pretty cool transportation? It can be one of those answers.

Limos and to an extent, limo services, are often seen as something that the rich and famous use to drive around in. However, how did it get to be that way? How did these cars go from being something widely available to them and then available to the public for weddings and other events? Like anything that has been developed over the years, the history of how limos became the way they are today is relatively interesting.

A Brief History of Limo Services

Sacre, Bleu!

The first major limousine service was created and developed in the early 1900s, with most sources pointing to 1902. However, instead of the driver being on the inside, the driver was outside, and the cars shared more in common with horse drawn carriages seen in the Old West. Although, the driver did have a cover over them, it was not as enclosed as the passengers are.

The name “limousine” is actually based on the French region, Limosuin, because of the cars that were driven in that area resembled the early limousine.

Throughout the 20th Century

In 1916, the United States based Society of Automotive Engineers defined what a limousine was.

Their definition was, “a closed car seating three to five inside, with driver’s seat outside.”

The first modern stretch limousine was actually created and developed in Fort Smith, Arkansas of all places in, depending on the source, 1928. It was this model where the driver was in a more secure front seat, as opposed to it being a little bit more open than the early models.

Throughout the next few decades, limos would be available to those who could only afford to own or maintain one. Eventually, this mindset was thrown out and the limos everyone sees today are available to the public for them to rent. Nowadays it is common to see limo rentals for people going out to the big city or for high school students experiencing prom for the first time.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous…Now Available for Everyone

As of 2015, there are nearly more than four thousand different limo service companies across the United States alone. They are available in any major city or any relatively big town, and they each own their particular fleet of limo style vehicles. In Houston, Texas, they have Limo Rental Houston, which provides the public with all different kinds of limo vehicles and services for the general population of the big Texas city.